Connected
by PandaGirl2860
Summary: I grew up scared of men. They were evil and never thought for the good of others. But he didn't scare me at all. Was it because of his childish ways? Maybe it was because he was the greatest detective rather than a die-hard criminal. Or maybe it was because my grandfather practically raised him. LxOC
1. Chapter 1

They are everywhere! There's one right there. And over there! Get away from me! Don't touch me! That one has a nasty smile on his face. Are they going to hurt me?! Ouch!

"Hey, watch- oh. Well hey there, cutie. What's your name?" he said to me with a guy tone of voice. That's the problem. A GUY tone of voice. I can't believe I ran into a guy.

"I'm so sorry!" That's all I said before I ran off, as fast as my legs could move me. I'm only 5'2, so my legs were pretty short, so I probably didn't run that fast. If you are wondering what I am getting worked up over then let me explain. I'm am currently at To-Oh University, heading towards the class where I will be taking my entrance exam.

Why am I scared, you ask? Because there are men everywhere. I'm deathly afraid of men. Shouldn't I be used to them, you ask? Well, no. I have always went to a female only school, so this is my first time going to a school with males.

Why am I so afraid of men? Just imagine that your mother, the only person left in your life to raise you, left for work and a man broke into your house. He tries to rape you and hurt you and break you. Wouldn't you be scared? I know I was. The neighbors had heard him break in a called the cops and thank God, they made it before he took something that we females all, or for the most part, try to keep with us to save for a man we love.

This happened in America. Mississippi, to be exact. I wasn't born in America, though. I was born in Winchester, England. My grandfather didn't want us to be around him, though. My parents left for America when I was two. However, my father died when I was 4. Car crash. I wish I had met him, but it's hard to miss somebody that you never met.

My mother had lung cancer from smoking and died last year. I had never mourn so much in my life than I had that day. I knew I couldn't be alone for the rest of my life. I had to break out of my shell. That's why I entered this college. To make something of myself. Maybe people will start respecting me and maybe I can make new friends. That's all I want. I can't consult with my mother about anything anymore. I can't hide behind her anymore.

I head to the bathroom to check myself before I go to the classroom. I still have thirty minutes. My reflections looks the same as I had had it when I left my small apartment, which included one bedroom, a small kitchen, a tiny living room, and the tiniest bathroom you had ever seen. My top half of my hair was still neatly pinned up and curled, which the rest of my fiery red hair was left down and also curled.

Even though it was curled, it still fell past my waist. I have always trimmed the dead ends of my hair, but never have I completely cut it in my seventeen years. I didn't skip a grade. That's what most people think. I just started early. I hate being the youngest, I get teased for it.

I am quite small for my age, which I also get teased about. I am 5'2, as I've already explained before, and 109 pounds. A lot of the weight is probably in my thick hair.

My makeup is still in tact, as I noticed looking in the mirror. Eyeliner. Check. Eye-shadow. Check. Mascara. Check. Lip gloss. Need to apply a little more. I take it out of my little purse and apply some. _Smack._ Check. Everything else seems to be fine, so I'm ready to go.

My legs shook as I made my way to the classroom to study for a little before the test begins. I'm so nervous. I usually do okay at school as long as I study really hard. It was hard to see the board for a few years because my mom couldn't afford to buy glasses. My grades dropped a lot and I had to work really hard to get them up. Wait. Where's my glasses?!

I reached in my purse to search for the spectacles. Keys. No. Wallet. No. Phone. No. AHA. Found them. My vision became clear as I put them on, and when I was able to see, I realized some guys were staring at me. Stop staring. Are they planning something? Are they going to hurt me?

I just need to study. I pulled out my blue notebook and studied the material on it. My only friend here gave me her notes to study off of because she had already passed the entrance exams last year and knew what type of material would be on the test. Her name is Aiko Ibuka. She is just a bit bigger than me, 5'6 and 120 pounds.

She has black short hair and dark brown eyes that gave off the maturity of a grown woman. She reminded me of my mom, which I found comfort in.

It's about time for the test to start. I put my notebook away and waited for him to pass out the test. As I waited, a guy walked up to my row and sat down right beside me. I don't like this. It was two minutes before the test started. You could practically feel the intelligence radiating off this guy.

He was quite tall, with brown hair, and intelligent brown eyes. He was handsome and the girls in the room seemed to moon over him. I realized I was staring when he turned to me and spoke. "Do you need something? I can lend you a pencil if you need one." How nice! I have to keep my guard up, though. He is a man.

"Umm. Uh. No! I-uh- don't need your help so leave me alone!" I am an idiot. How could I respond to such a nice gesture? I am truly the worst. And what made it more embarrassing is that I didn't sound intimidating in the slightest. I sounded like a little girl speaking to a boy on the playground like she would get cooties or something.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you." He spoke in such a gentle way, but he still sounded bored, like he couldn't be bothered.

"I'm sorry, too." I admitted. If I did make it in, this wouldn't be how I wanted to start off my first real interaction with somebody.

"Here, let's start over. My name is Light Yagami. What's your name?" He looked at me expectantly. The only problem was that I have been even more suspicious about giving out my name since this whole Kira thing started up. He can kill with a face and a name, well that's what I think at least, which really makes me not want to give out my name.

Only criminals have heart attacks, though. I'm not a criminal, so it should be good, shouldn't it?

"Um. Are you alright?" He had a little concern in his voice, but something else, too. Annoyance? Was he annoyed by me? He was probably annoyed by how I wasn't answering. Maybe I should answer now.

"Oh. My name is Grace Wilson." I finally spoke up. My first words to a male that sounded not as scared as usual! Progress is being made ladies and gentlemen.

"Were you raised in America? I can detect a southern American accent in your voice." He can tell that? I thought I had lost my accent after spending over 5 years here, but maybe he was just that perceptive.

"I was born in England, but raised in the southern part of North America. I moved here when I was twelve. I thought I had lost my accent." I whispered, so lightly in fact that Light had to lean in to hear. I leaned backwards to get further away from him, which made it harder for him to hear. I wasn't trying to make him not hear me, I just wasn't used to guys being that close to me.

"Oh, I see. I guess I can pick up on accents." He smiled and I felt heat rise to my face. This is the first time I saw a guy up close smile at me. It wasn't genuine from what I can tell, but it was still a smile. I'm really simple and stupid, I guess.

We went silent to listen out for the teacher to tell us to begin. The bell rung. "And begin." the teacher said loudly for everyone to hear. We all picked up our pens/pencils to start the test and I just so happen to notice that Light didn't. He flipped through the test to check out some of the questions with a bored expression on his face. Was he that cocky?

The teacher walked past us and for a second, I thought Light was going to get in trouble for not starting, but he kept on walking. Finally he picked his pencil up only to be distracted by the teacher again. "You there, student number 162, sit properly in your chair." the teacher scorned another student. I notice Light turn around to look at said person so I turned around to check him out too.

It was another guy, who looked quite odd. He had black, wild hair, dark eyes that looked like the pupil took up most of with bags under them, and really pale skin. He crouched in his chair with his knees pulled up to his chest with no shoes on. He held his pencil with his thumb and index finger which made me question how he was able to write properly. Men were truly strange!

Him and Light were now having a stare-off. Almost like they were questioning each other's mind and trying to find out about each other through eye contact alone. I will just go back to my test. It was none of my business anyway. I need to get away from all of these guys!


	2. Chapter 2

I. Made. It!

I have never worried so much about my grade so much in my life. I barely made it, though. I was the third worst. I'll accept it!

Today, I'm getting ready for the ceremony that makes it official. What am I going to wear?! I have to look professional, but I also want to look cute. But I don't want to look like a little girl. I need people to see me as a grown woman. But I don't want to be intimidating and unapproachable. What am I kidding? I'm 5'2. How could I be intimidating?

I decided on a black romper with pants that flowed and the straps crossed right below my neck on my chest and tied behind my neck. I wore black heels to give me a little height with a cute black hat. I wore light makeup to have a more natural appearance. My toes and finger nails were painted a matte sleek grey to give a mature look.

My hair loosely braided over my shoulder, and still fell to my hip. I'm ready!

Ahh! I need to hurry. I will be late. It started at 8:00 a.m. and it's 7:40 a.m. right now. I started to walk fast to the subway, since I couldn't run, but I was stopped by my neighbor, Mrs. Tatsui. She was a lonely woman who aged at 47 years old. She had a blue and white gown on and her graying hair pinned to the back with a beautiful rose gold pin shaped as a rose in full bloom.

"Do you need a ride, honey?" she asked with her soft, kind voice. "You can take my car. It needs to be used, and I never go anywhere, anyways." She sounded so lonely when she stated those words. Maybe I should find somebody for her. She used to have a husband years ago, she said, but he had died doing his duties as a police.

She never told me the full story. Too painful, I guess. I decided that it would be quicker using her car, so I ran up to her and grabbed the keys from her cold hands with a gleeful 'thank you.'

I took the little red car over to To-Oh University right away, speeding just a little bit. Okay, maybe a lot of bit. But I made it on time so no harm no foul.

When I walked inside, I noticed I was probably the last person there and it was dead silent. A lot of people stared as I walked down the pathway to my seat, making me feel self-conscious. I thought dressing like this would boost my self-esteem, but it made me feel like I was trying too hard to fit in.

The stares I was getting from the guys were making me want to hide under a rock. Were they judging me? Were they planning to bully me for how I look? Maybe I don't look mature enough.

I zoned out through a lot of the ceremony and actually started to fall asleep. I don't know how long I was asleep when I felt a nudge on my side. I woke up and looked over to the person who was waking me from my blissful nap that I never get anymore.

It was a girl with brown hair that fell to her shoulders. "Pay attention, will you? Your snoring is bothering everybody." she scorned me. I WAS SNORING?! That's so embarrassing.

"And now freshmen representatives, Light Yagami and...Hideki Ryuga." a male voice announced to the state. Light's name brought me out of my thoughts that were scorning myself at the moment. I knew he gave off an intelligent vibe, but I didn't think he was that smart.

And Hideki Ryuga? Wasn't he a pop artist? Or so I thought before I realized that the man following Light up the stair that led to the stage was the same guy who got in trouble for sitting in a strange way at his desk.

I heard murmurs among the crowd about how the second guy looked nothing like the other Hideki Ryuga and also started comparing Light to 'Hideki.'

Light definitely looked like the guy most girls would fall for, but to me, he looked scary. Well, you couldn't really ask me because I think all guys look scary. Except for Hideki. He looked like a panda and I think pandas are adorable. Maybe I could become friends with him. My first male friend.

Nah. Why would he want to be friend's with me? I heard that the freshmen representatives this year made a perfect score on all the exams. Someone that smart would get bored with talking to a normal kid like me.

Well I wouldn't say I'm exactly 'normal', though. I do have my quirks. I'm pretty OCD when it comes to symmetry and I'm too clumsy. And I'm afraid of men, which I have made very clear. But compared to those guys, I'm pretty basic and boring.

They both gave their speeches, Light's sounding like a true business man, and Hideki's sounding like a bored guy who had his written for him. Though, I think those speeches were written for them, since they practically said the same thing.

The ceremony went on for what it seemed like forever. Finally when it ended, I hurried out to beat the crowd, but ended up getting trampled. Somebody grabbed my arm and I looked up at them. It was a guy who was very tall and very muscular, and scary.

"Woah, there. Don't want you to get hurt, now do we?" he gave me a polite smile and even though he was probably a nice guy, I couldn't look him in the eyes.

"Uh, thanks!" I said too loudly then ran off to avoid anymore contact from any guys. I heard him calling for me as a ran away, or walked fast away because of the heels, and when I turned around to see if he was still behind me I bumped into another person.

I got to stop doing this. "Huh? Oh, hey, Grace. Are you okay?" I looked up to see Light looking down at me with that polite smile of his. Something was off, though. He seemed a little aggravated. Maybe it's because I just ran into him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Light." I said nervously, looking down at my feet like they were the most interesting at this moment.

"I guess I will see you around, then?" I heard a male voice that didn't sound like Light's. I looked up to see Hideki standing there looking at both Light and me with those big eyes of his.

"Oh, yeah, see you around." Light said his goodbyes. Hideki got into a black short limousine while everybody stared in envy, including me. That guy must come froma seriously wealthy family. Light looked back at me as I stared after the car that just left in awe. "I got to go. I'll see you later, Grace." This brought me out of my trance.

"Oh, okay. See you later." I said before he disappeared to leave campus. Something was really off with him. I may not know him, but he looked so agitated. Something was bothering him. Not my business.

I just need to go home. As I walked back to the car, the same guy from earlier caught up with me. I got really nervous. Too many guys for today. I don't think I can handle more.

"Hey, wait up! I didn't catch your name." Why would he want to know my name?

"Uh, my name is, uh, uh, G-Grace," I said it! I didn't think it would ever come out.

"That's a beautiful name. My name is Hiroshi. People call me Hiro, though." He said this with a big grin. Was he...flirting with me? Should I be scared? Is this a good thing?

"Oh, uh, thanks. I'm going to go no-" I was cut off by another question that seemed really odd.

"Are you and Light a couple? I need to warn you. I went to high school with him and he practically dated all of the girls there. Not the type of guy you would want to date." he warned me. Light dating?

He always seemed to ignored the girls that was mooning over him. He used to play all of them? Guys are strange creatures. Why was this guy warning me, though? It really wasn't his business.

"I think I can handle myself," I said sternly. Yes! I was able to be a real woman! "Uh, bye."

I got in the car and raced off before he could get in a simple goodbye. I felt the need to be on my couch with some coffee, cuddled up in a blanket and talking to Aiko on the phone.

And that is exactly what I did.

"Hey, Grace. How was the entrance ceremony? Did you meet any guys?" Aiko said from the other line.

"Oh, yeah, I met one. He warned me about the guy I told you about before." I responded.

"Really? You have to watch out for those guys. I'm not saying to base a person's personality off of rumors, but don't let your guard down, either." Her words always gave me answers.

"I don't know how long I can be around these guys."

"Don't worry. You will come to like some of them. Maybe even fall in love with one." I could practically feel her grin on the other side of the phone. Me? Fall in love? Never. Guys are way too intimidating for that. Can guys even love? From what I've heard, they only want one thing...

"Hello?" I guess I forgot to answer.

"Uh, Aiko, I got to go. I'm worn out from today and I need some sleep." I responded. I didn't lie. I was on the verge of passing out.

"Oh, okay. I'll talk to you tomorrow then. Good night, Grace."

"Good night, Aiko."

I would never allow myself to fall in love with such evil creatures. Never.


End file.
